About the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship

The CONCACAF Under-17 Championship is a biennial tournament that determines a champion and the Confederation’s qualifiers for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Throughout its existence, it has provided an introduction to international football for thousands of players, setting the stage for further aspirations in the sport.

Launched in 1983, the Under-17 Championship was staged initially as an under-16 competition up until 1991, when FIFA changed the FIFA U-16 World Championship to an under-17 event (eventually becoming known as the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2007).

Though contested 16 times, the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship has crowned a champion on only 10 occasions with Mexico owning a record five titles.

It has been played under multiple formats and configurations over the years. The inaugural competition in 1983 saw the United States lift the trophy by outlasting host Trinidad & Tobago 5-3 on penalty kicks after their final ended in a scoreless draw. Due to that success, the Americans were designated to participate in the first FIFA Under-16 World Championship in 1985. As a result, they did not take part in the next CONCACAF tournament two years later, when Mexico and Costa Rica also qualified to join the U.S. in China.

After the first eight editions took place in a single country, the finals were split into two groups of four teams – played in two different countries -- to qualify teams for the FIFA U-17 World Championship instead of producing a champion. This structure endured from 1999 through 2007.

In 2009, the final round reverted back to a competition disputed in one nation by groups of four teams to decide a champion once again, plus qualify teams for FIFA competition. That year, however, the tournament in Tijuana, Mexico, was cut short due to health concerns related to a swine flu outbreak and no champion was crowned.

Two years later, in Montego Bay, Jamaica, the field was expanded to 12 teams (four groups of three teams each).

For 2015, in a bid to favor development and competition, the format was altered once again. The 12 participants were split into two groups of six, increasing the number of guaranteed games for each to five rather than two in the previous two editions. The group winners after round-robin play advance to the World Cup. In order to determine the Confederation’s other two representatives, the second- and third- place nations from each group will advance to a pair of single-game playoffs with the winners progressing as well.

Teams from Central America and Caribbean earn places in the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship through regional tournaments, while Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are automatic entrants from the North Zone.

* United States designated to participate in the 1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship as the 1983 CONCACAF champion** Qualified as FIFA U-17 World Championship host, did not participate in CONCACAF Under-17 Championship*** Qualified as FIFA U-17 World Cup host, did not participate in CONCACAF Under-17 Championship